Dec 28, 2024
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Cambria Heights’ Nolan Clawson is pressured by West Shamokin’s Jude Olinger.
By Rick Weaver
For The Mirror
PATTON — The Cambria Heights Highlanders went nearly 5:30 minutes without scoring during the second quarter, and Bradyn Rodgers proved to be an even greater thorn in the Highlanders’ side as West Shamokin captured a 50-33 victory in the title game of the Cambria Heights holiday tournament on Friday.
The Highlanders opened the second quarter in a 9-9 deadlock. Rodgers scored the first eight points of the period, however, as the Wolves decisively assumed command. Rodgers scored 20 points in the first half on 10 of 15 shooting.
“We turned it over too many times,” Cambria Heights coach Eric Nagel said. “We turned it over way too many times. And you can’t do that. (No.) 1, when we’re struggling to score, you definitely can’t turn it over because you’re eliminating possessions. So, that’s something we have to work on.”
Rodgers proved to be the easy choice as the tournament’s most valuable player. He totaled 31 points in the championship game, and 45 for the tournament. He made good on 14 of 24 from the field on Friday night.
“He’s a good player. We had to keep him in check. They had 50 points, and he had 31. So that’s a lot of offense,” Nagel said.
“He’s tough to stop. I’m glad I don’t have to draw up game plans to defend him, and he’s on our side. He works hard in the offseason. He works hard in practice, and he leads by example. He had a great tournament, and he has had a great year so far,” West Shamokin coach Judd McCullough said.
Alex Talmadge joined Rodgers on the all-tournament team from West Shamokin. He added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.
West Shamokin forced 26 turnovers, and committed 17. Most of the Wolves’ giveaways came in a second half that was rife with out of control play that posed a strong challenge for officials Ray Witkowski, Brock Kauffman, and Jarryl Burkett. McCullough was ejected with 3:36 remaining in the final quarter.
“The guys brought a lot of energy. I thought (Thursday) we were a little bit loose. And then I thought today we really brought the focus along with the energy and toughness as well. So, I was proud of the way they bounced back from a little bit of a sub-par performance (Thursday),” McCullough said.
“You have to give credit to those guys. They moved the ball, and (Rodgers) gets looks,” Nagel said.
Stephen Nelen represented Cambria Heights on the all-tournament team. Isaac Weiland led the Highlanders with 11 points and five rebounds. Garrett Jasper also grabbed five rebounds to go with his nine points.
WEST SHAMOKIN (50): Barrett 0 0-0 0, Olinger 1 2-2 4, Rodgers 14 2-2 31, Talmadge 4 1-2 11, Johns 1 1-2 4, Fowler 0 0-0 0, Oesterling 0 0-0 0, Klonowski 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-10 50.
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS (33): Abrams 2 0-0 6, Nelen 1 0-2 2, Weiland 3 5-7 11, Nagel 0 0-0 0, Jasper 4 1-2 9, Clawson 2 0-2 5, Baker 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 6-13 33.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
West Shamokin 9 17 12 12 — 50
Cambria Heights 9 4 10 10 — 33
3-point field goals: West Shamokin 4 (Talmadge 2, Johns, Rodgers), Cambria Heights 3 (Abams 2, Clawson).
Officials: Ray Witkowski, Brock Kauffman, Darryl Burkett.
Team records: West Shamokin (6-2), Cambria Heights (2-6).
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